Grosmont Ironworks in the Esk Valley had 3 furnaces that ran 24/7.
There were many ironstone mines surrounding the Ironworks to feed the ferocious furnaces!
Grosmont Ironworks were situated on what is now a car park in Grosmont. It is hard to imagine that it was once the site of a major industrial complex producing nearly 1,000 tonnes of pig iron a week. Lumps and bumps in the car park indicate the layout of the ironworks – the base of one of the blast furnaces and the boiler house chimney can be clearly seen.
A nearby brickworks also operated between 1870 and 1957, producing thousands of quality bricks and many beautiful handcrafted ‘specials’.
The piles of slag and waste that the ironworks produced were enormous, estimated at around 1 million tonnes, and blighted this now-picturesque village for a long time.
Although the furnaces ceased operation in 1891, it took another 50 years for all the slag to be removed, much of it recycled for use in road building.
As if often the case, the ground conditions left from the industrial exploitation have helped encourage a variety of unusual and attractive plants to colonise the site, such as twayblade and sickle medick.
The ‘This Exploited Land of Iron’ project will conserve and protect these features, help uncover new ones through community archaeology events, and tell the story of this fascinating site, its history and how nature has steadily reclaimed the space.
Grosmont, Eskdale Valley, North Yorkshire
Grosmont Ironworks in the Esk Valley had 3 furnaces that ran 24/7.
There were many ironstone mines surrounding the Ironworks to feed the ferocious furnaces!
Grosmont Ironworks were situated on what is now a car park in Grosmont. It is hard to imagine that it was once the site of a major industrial complex producing nearly 1,000 tonnes of pig iron a week. Lumps and bumps in the car park indicate the layout of the ironworks – the base of one of the blast furnaces and the boiler house chimney can be clearly seen.
A nearby brickworks also operated between 1870 and 1957, producing thousands of quality bricks and many beautiful handcrafted ‘specials’.
The piles of slag and waste that the ironworks produced were enormous, estimated at around 1 million tonnes, and blighted this now-picturesque village for a long time.
Although the furnaces ceased operation in 1891, it took another 50 years for all the slag to be removed, much of it recycled for use in road building.
As if often the case, the ground conditions left from the industrial exploitation have helped encourage a variety of unusual and attractive plants to colonise the site, such as twayblade and sickle medick.
The ‘This Exploited Land of Iron’ project will conserve and protect these features, help uncover new ones through community archaeology events, and tell the story of this fascinating site, its history and how nature has steadily reclaimed the space.
Grosmont, Eskdale Valley, North Yorkshire
